Copper
by themoonlightdragon
Summary: Being a hybrid is hard enough, but when you add firescales, Jade Mountain Academy, and a hostile SkyWing, there's a whole lot of trouble headed Copper's way. Despite all of her doubts, for the first time ever, she might actually be able to make some friends. DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

**PART ONE  
COPPER**

 **Chapter 1**

I maneuver through the crowd of dragons, careful to tuck in my wings and look out for tails and claws. Of course, my whole appearance screams GET AWAY- with copper scales and dark blue eyes, with brown scales inside my wings, I look like no dragon I've ever seen.

Maybe there's a reason for my having a lone cave, other than the, "OH NO, FIRESCALES! She's here to kill us all!" thing. Maybe it's best that I'm not near anyone else. Otherwise I would suffer a lot of teasing, because of the hybrid thing. Being the first hybrid at Jade Mountain is no party. They gave me the SkyWing spot, but I suspect I wouldn't have gotten in if my dad weren't one of the dragonets of destiny.

There's my cave, right in front of me. I slip in, hoping to avoid any dragonets looking for trouble. My cave is small, only meant to hold one dragon. Colorful lanterns are strung from the stalactites. There's a ledge on the left side of the wall, just large enough for me to sleep in. If I were any bigger, I would have trouble, but because of my small size, it seems large enough. _Your size is probably a result of your being a hybrid,_ the SkyWing doctors said. _Hybrids are often born with flaws._

The ledge looks uncomfortable, but I'm used to it. Anything else would burn right through.

Though the ledge may not be paradise, it is evident that someone tried to make this cave right for me. There's a stack of scrolls by my ledge, and when I touch it it DOESN'T burst into flame! Which feels WEIRD but also so COOL. They must be those fireproof scrolls Starflight made. Mom requested them a few years back.

And, even better, some dragon- probably Dad- left a small pot of mud for me. I dip two claws into the mud and run it down my aching back quickly. The pain disappears, but a moment later the mud dissolves into ashes. The downside is that I can't relax in mud, but the upside is that at least it has enough time to heal pain before it burns up.

I'm tired after a long day of flying. The guard who escorted me was grumpy and rude, and he whapped me with his spear when I was flying at a pace too slow for him. The eventual result was a melted spear and my aching back. Most SkyWings are fast, but as a result of my being half MudWing, I'm not. I could hear him making stinging comments about my 'flying at a snail's pace'.

I stretch out my wings, exhausted. Crawling onto my ledge, I can finally rest.

A dragon bursts into my cave. I sit up, startled, and my wings brush against the pot of mud. The pot spills over. I desperately try to tip it back up, but it just burns up, and the mud is now a pile of cinders. "TALONS AND TAILS," I screech. She RUINED my mud!

"Oops, sorry," says the dragon, a nervous-looking RainWing. "Looking for my sleeping cave." Her eyes glance from me to the cinders and her eyes are clearly making the connection _cinders-copper scales- firescales dragonet._ She tries to sidle out of the cave, clearly not interested in talking to the weird hybrid firescales.

"Oookay," I say awkwardly, "but next time, don't startle me like that."

"Okay," the dragonet squeaks, even though she's two times my size and clearly a few years older. I sigh as she walks out of the cave. My first acquaintance at Jade Mountain Academy. I have a feeling it'll go all downhill from here, and now I don't have any more mud. I scoop up the ashes in my talons and gather them into a little pile. I also pick up the hunk of metal that used to be the pot and squeeze it until it burns into ashes, too.

I sit on my ledge for about half an hour (okay, maybe it was more like five minutes) until I can't bear it anymore. I squeeze out of my sleeping cave and find the entrance hall, where I quickly exit the school. The sky is blue and my wings are screaming FLY FLY FLY! I spread my wings and flap into the air.

The sky is where I feel I truly belong. Nothing to burn. Just the air and my wings. I look down at Jade Mountain, which is quite a scene. It takes me a moment to realize that another dragon is flapping towards me. I hope it's not a student. I try swerving away, but then I realize that the dragon's scales are an unusual gold color, and only one dragon I know has scales like that.

"Copper?" Sunny calls. "Are you okay?"

"Just flying," I say irritably, allowing Sunny to catch up with me. For some reason her voice is like listening to claws scraping on stone. "But I had an encounter with a RainWing student."

"Oh, no!" Sunny cries. "Is anyone hurt?!"

"No, no, nothing like that," I say, annoyed. "She just startled me, and I knocked over my pot of mud. It kiiiinda burned up, so I was wondering if I could maaaybe get some more?" I wonder if I'm being impudent. Am I being impudent?

"Of course," says Sunny warmly. "Clay put that pot there for you. He knew you'd be exhausted after a long day of flying." I look for any signs of mockery or meanness in that statement, but she looks kind. She probably didn't realize she was insulting me.

"It helped. I mean, before it burned up," I say. "Let him know that, okay?"

"I will," says Sunny. "But we don't want to lose you on your first day here. Will you come back to Jade Mountain with me?" A flash of irritation crosses my face, and I know immediately that she came just to lure me back inside. I think about saying no, but Sunny _is_ Dad's friend.

"Okay," I sigh. "I might as well go to the prey center anyway." Maybe they have COWS!

Sunny guides me back, and I can see that she is carefully keeping her distance. I swoop to the ground and enter the entrance hall. Sunny walks off, probably to the art cave, and so we go our separate ways. I'm pleased to see that Dad is there.

"Copper!" He says affectionately, giving me a small hug. His scales burn and sizzle for a moment, and I wince, but they heal instantly.

Turns out there are no cows today, but there are chickens, which are almost as good. I bite into a chicken leg, and heavenly juice drips from my mouth. "Thith ith tho good!" I said, my voice muffled. Chicken tastes much better than the seagulls I had in the Sky Kingdom. I've only ever tasted chicken and cows when I've come to visit Jade Mountain. Now that I'm here I can have them every day! My mouth waters at the thought.

Clay smiles. "There's my little dragonet."

I laugh. Everyone knows about Clay's love of food, which I have clearly inherited. But despite all I eat, I am still way to small for my age (three). "Cows are my favorite because of their flavor. It's like someone took peace and love and wonder and stuffed it into one cow's leg!" I say, wishing I had a cow right now. But I take the second leg of chicken, bite down into the scorched leg, and I know that I'm lucky to be eating it instead of bland seagull.

When I finish the second leg I pick ash out of my teeth. "Made any friends yet?" Clay asks. This remark stings because though I know he's trying to be friendly, he knows my lone cave isn't exactly the perfect social area.

"Yeah, sure," I fib, trying to act dismissive. "I'm gonna go back to my cave now. Bye!" I take another piece of chicken to bring back to my cave and walk back. On my way there I pass a haughty-looking IceWing, a nervous SeaWing, and a SandWing and SkyWing arguing.

"Hey, hey, break it up!" I say.

"Oh yeah, you think you're the boss of me?" Says the SkyWing crudely, and I REALLY want to set him on fire, but I know Dad wouldn't approve.

"I'm just trying to make peace," I say defensively, ignoring the dragonets in the hallway who are whispering about the hybrid firescales and how they think she's going to attack the innocent SkyWing.

"Too late," says the SkyWing. The SandWing looks regretful, but the SkyWing continues: "No one was talking to you. So get your weird little copper scales away from me and my tribe."

"I'm half SkyWing, you know," I bristle.

The SkyWing snorts. "You will never be one of us."

I snarl at him and just walk away. It's not worth it, anyway. Everyone will think that I'm the bad guy here. I enter my cave and sit down on the ledge, looking down at the scorched chicken. It doesn't seem so appetizing now. I toss it aside and curl up on my ledge.

As I try in vain to fall asleep, the SkyWing's words echo in my head: "you'll never be one of us."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Today is our first day of 'small-group discussion classes', according to the board up in the entrance hall. I'm in the Copper Winglet, which I think is kinda cool because my name is Copper, but I hope no one else notices because they'll tease me. My winglet group is with Dad! I bet they did that on purpose.

"Copper Winglet, huh?"

I turn around. It's the SkyWing from yesterday, wrinkling his snout. "Huh. They actually gave you a SkyWing spot! Who do they think we are, a tribe of seagulls? Guess they'll let everyone in here, huh? Even a useless hybrid like you."

"Sunny's a hybrid," I bristle.

"Sunny? Oh, the annoying dragon with the golden scales." the SkyWing rolls his eyes. "I hope there are good dragonets in the Silver Winglet."

I look over at the board. In the Silver Winglet, the SkyWing spot says FLARE. Flare is the name of my new enemy. He reminds me of the dragonets from the winglet- big, tough, mean. THREE MOONS, I want to set him on fire ALREADY!

I head over to the prey center because that's where the Copper Winglet meets. I'm the first dragon there other than Dad- the gong hasn't sounded yet. "Hi, Dad," I say, smiling.

"Hi, Copper," he says affectionately. "Want a cow?"

"We have cows today!" I remark happily, tearing off a leg. Dad always taught me that the legs were the best. I bite down into the juicy leg. No more seagulls for me!

Clay laughs.

"I'm excited," says Clay. "The dragonets you'll get to work with sound fun." I feel slightly encouraged.

A moment later a serious-looking IceWing enters. He's radiating cold as much as I'm radiating heat, but not in a mean way. He sits down next to me and I can feel the cold of his scales. It feels unnatural. "Hi, I'm Clay," says Dad. "You must be Zero. This is my daughter, Copper."

Zero clearly doesn't know about the firescales thing because he holds out a talon for me to burn off- I mean, shake. He looks hurt when I flinch back, so I explain, "I have firescales. If you touched me, you would burn up and maybe die." He looks alarmed. Too much information? He casually slides away from me.

A few minutes later a nervous-looking, twitchy dragon comes in. His scales are so pale that I almost think he's an IceWing, but they have a slightly yellow tinge that tells me he's a SandWing. Wait a minute- it's the SandWing from yesterday!

"Hi," says Clay. "I'm Clay, and you're Crab, right?"

"Crab?" Zero asks.

Crab flinches, obviously a bit sensitive about his name. "And you are?" He asks nervously, his claws _tap-tap-tap_ ping on the cold stone floor.

"Zero," says Zero. "And this is Copper. Don't touch her or you'll burst into flames." I might have imagined it, but I see a tiny glint in his eyes. Is he teasing Crab? I thought he was all seriousness and no fun.

"He's exaggerating," I say. "I'm pretty sure you'd just fall into a pile of ashes." Crab looks alarmed, so I say, "Not an experiment anyone would want to test or anything."

Crab finally cracks a smile. Zero laughs, shaking his glittery silver wings. They're the color of one of the moons reflecting off a snowy mountain's peak and somehow make me feel homesick. I remember the days of flying by a mountain, scooping up some snow, and watching it dissolve into ashes.

Two more dragons come in- a MudWing and a RainWing. I feel disappointed when I realize that the RainWing is the one I scared out of my cave yesterday. Yippee, two familiar dragons! Though to be fair, she doesn't look exactly pleased either. Her eyes flit from Clay to me, she whispers something to the MudWing, and they sit on the opposite side of the circle from me.

Well, I COULDN'T CARE LESS what that silly RainWing and her MudWing friend do. She looks mean anyway. Though I still wish I could set her on fire. NO COPPER! Don't set her on fire! Burning is bad!

Burning is bad, burning is bad... I take a deep breath.

"Hi, I'm Clay. You must be Bloom and Mosquito." The two of them nod, and Clay looks satisfied. I look at Crab. How can he be sensitive to his name when he's in a winglet with someone named Mosquito?

A little bit later a NightWing slinks in. "Are you Clay?" He asks, wide-eyed.

"Yes, I am," says Clay, a slight smile on his face.

"I'm Eclipse," she says.

"Nice to meet you," says Clay. "Have a seat. Meet Copper, Zero, Crab, Mosquito, and Bloom." Elcipse sits on my left and gives me a shy smile. Her scales are almost purple. I've never seen a NightWing before; I pictured them to be more black.

"Are you a hybrid?" Shee whispers.

I bristle. "Yes."

"Cool," she says. At first I thought she was teasing me, but she seems genuinely awed by seeing a real hybrid. She actually seems kind of nice.

It takes a few minutes, but eventually our SeaWing trods in, looking even shyer than Crab. He's blueish-gray, the color of a rain cloud, with freckles across his snout and pure green eyes.

"Aha," says Clay. "I'm betting you're... Mal-stro-me?

"It's Male-strom," says Maelstrom, his eyes sparkling.

"We've been waiting on you," says Clay.

"Great," says Maelstrom happily. He turns around, takes one look at us, and his smile vanishes, the shy look coming back. It was probably me. He has probably heard of the terrifying firescales and is upset that he's in my group.

"Now that we're all here, let's introduce ourselves. Copper, why don't you go first?" He asks, his eyes warm and sweet. I nod and wonder, what should I say? _I'm half SkyWing, half MudWing? I have the power to kill you all at the slightest touch?_

"My name's Copper. Um. Clay is my dad, and I'm three years old, and I live in the Sky Kingdom." They're all staring at me, but why shouldn't they be? I'm half their size and I'm a hybrid.

"Are you a hybrid?" Mosquito asks, wrinkling her snout.

"Yes," I mutter.

"Weird," says Bloom. I narrow my eyes. I thought RainWings were a bunch of nice, happy banana-eaters, but Bloom feels kind of mean. "So that's why you're so small."

I jut out my chin. "And what's wrong with that?"

"Oh, nothing," says Bloom, but she obviously means the opposite. I REALLY want to set her on fire right now! Instead I storm out.

A moment later a dragonet comes out- it's Maelstrom.

"I think hybrids are cool," he says. Just GREAT. Now I'm a SeaWing's science project! "Don't listen to Bloom," says Maelstrom. "She's not the nicest dragon."

I think of Flare and shake my head. "I'm not afraid of some RainWing," I say.

"Do you really have firescales?" He asks. _Wanna find out?_ I think, annoyed. Instead I nod. He looks- am I imagining this- a little surprised. Like he didn't believe it was true.

"Yeah," I say, shaking out my wings. I walk back to my cave- Clay left some new mud here last night- and glare at Maelstrom, making sure that he understands that he's not allowed to follow me.

Once back in my cave, I quickly scoop up some mud and rub it down my wings. As usual, there's pain, relief, and ashes. Ashes. Everything I touch turns into ashes! I wonder if I'll ever hug someone, or if the only thing I'll ever touch will be ashes.

* * *

 **OCs**

 **FLARE and BLOOM were created by redwut.**

 **CRAB was made by SeverusSnapeandLilyEvans**

 **MAELSTROM was submitted by LemonDrops334**

 **ZERO was an entry by raymondli1967**

 **ECLIPSE is from a suggestion by a guest named Aydan**

 **Everyone else was my personal creation.**


	3. Chapter 3

_"It was strange to realize that a dragon who couldn't be hurt on the outside could have so many ragged holes on the inside."_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

In my dream that night, I'm in the prey center. I see a delicious cow. I reach for it, but then it melts into Bloom, screaming her head off. "You burned me! You burned me!" Her eyes go blank and underneath the burnt parts, her scales are white with pain.

"How could you?" Maelstrom screams at me. Everyone is looking at me with fearful eyes. I back up, but when I do, I burn Zero, who's behind me. He chokes with pain, his white scales so burnt I can't tell him apart from Bloom.

"No- no- I didn't mean to hurt you," I plead as his expression goes neutral. I whirl around, and my wing smacks into Crab, who screams before he too slumps to the ground. He's a lump of dusty sand before he falls into a pile of ashes.

"You're a monster!" Eclipse declares. "Did you really think you could come here and actually NOT hurt anyone! Huh? Did you? Did you? You must be made of bananas. You're a death machine!"

Clay turns to look at me, his eyes full of disappointment. He opens his mouth to speak, but when he does, it's in Flare's voice. "You will never be one of us."

.

I sit up, panting with fear. It's not real, it's not real, I remind myself. Bloom is alive, Zero is alive, Crab is alive, Clay still loves me. I look down at my talons, with their odd coppery color, and for a moment I think Flare's right. I will never be a SkyWing. But will I ever be a MudWing?

I bury my head in my talons. Trapped between two tribes. Will I ever belong?

The gong rings. Oh no! I'm late for class! I rush to the prey center, where the other dragonets are already waiting for me. I look down. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's no problem," says Clay.

"We haven't started yet anyway," says Maelstrom reassuringly. I nod and sit down, careful to tuck my wings behind me. I see Bloom whispering to Mosquito and am surprised to see the amber MudWing look miserable.

Clay clears his throat. "Today we're going to visit a nearby pond. You can hunt, swim, fly, and socialize." Maelstrom looks happy, probably because he'll get to swim. Bloom wrinkles her snout. "Well, let's get going!"

He leads us to the pond, which is just outside of Jade Mountain. I shake out my wings and look up. Not a very good place to fly, but I can make it worth. Maelstrom immediately splashes into the pool, with Mosquito following behind. I notice Mosquito sticking to the shallows- _that's where the mud is,_ I guess.

Eclipse and Bloom each go off to find some fruit. Zero just sits around looking bored. Crab spears a lizard on one of his claws. I spread my wings and flap into the air.

I breathe in fresh air. No ashes here. No dragons to run into. Just fresh air and me. I've flown for hours on end before without getting tired. Up here, I'm not the hybrid. I'm not the firescales. I'm not the small one. I'm just me.

It's surprising how lonely _just me_ is.

I swoop down to the ground, my flying mood spoiled. Maelstrom has gotten out of the lake with a few fish and offers one to Zero, who happily takes one.

 _There._

Something has caught my eye. A cow, just a little bit of distance away. I swoop towards it and slash its throat with my claws. "Hey guys!" I call. "I got something!"

Crab trots over and helps me lug the cow over to the picnic blanket. I wipe sweat from my scales, setting down the cow. It's brown and quite large. "Wow, what a catch!" Mosquito says. "You're so dexterous, Copper!"

Bloom shoots her a look. Mosquito wilts.

I rip off a leg and invite the others to eat. Bloom wrinkles her snout. "Who would eat something so burnt?" She says, looking down her snout at the charred cow. Mosquito and Eclipse don't seem to mind, though. Crab and Zero politely decline, and Maelstrom gives a small shake of his head.

"THREE MOONS, this cow is good," Eclipse chomps. "How talented!"

 _Talented._ I feel a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. No one ever thinks I'm talented. I remember what Eclipse said in my dream: _"You're a monster! Did you really think you could come here and actually NOT hurt anyone! You're a death machine!"_

A monster. A death machine.

Peril always said that other dragons used to call her things like a _notorious death monster_ and a _dancing monkey of fiery doom._ I had laughed at the monkey part, but my grin faded as I remembered all of the things people had called me.

"But that's not who you are," Peril had said. "Anyone who thinks you're a death monster has the brains of a seagull. When I was little, I felt bad about my firescales. I thought a monster was who I was meant to be. But then I met Clay, and he didn't think I was a monster. He liked me for who I was. And the dragons who like you for what's inside your heart instead of what's on your scales... those are the dragons who matter."

 _Those are the dragons who matter._

 _Those are the dragons who matter._

I scoot a little closer to the others. I've been keeping my distance, trying to tell myself I'm worried about hurting them- but the truth is I've just been afraid that they'll reject me. Maelstrom notices and offers me a fish. "No thanks," I say, shaking my head.

He smiles at me, his stormy blue scales glinting in the sunlight. I smile tentatively and look at Zero, who's just sitting around looking bored. "Hey Zero!" I call. "Wanna come flying? I think I see a snow-capped mountain over there!"

Zero grins. "Sure." I shoot up like a rocket and Zero follows. I point at the said mountain. "Last person there is a rotten dragon egg! On your marks, get set, go!" I swoop through the air, taking a moment to just glide. I beat him by a mile.

"Beat by a hybrid," I grin. "Wait till your IceWing chums hear about this one!"

 _"Chums?"_ Zero laughs.

"I don't know what you snooty IceWings call your friends," I grin.

"And anyway, you have an advantage. Your wings are more capable!"

"I'll race you back and give you a head start," I offer. He scoops up some snow and throws it at me. I feel the cold impact of the snow before it turns to ash and falls off my scales. It feels so HORRIBLE and CHILLY and COLD!

"You'll pay for that," I warn, scooping up some snow myself. It darkens, turning black and ashy. I throw the ash-ball at him and he shrieks. That's when he takes off.

 _Oh no he didn't!_ I race after him, back to the pond, and beat him again. "Aw, c'mon," he says, but he's smiling.

 _So this is what having friends is like,_ I think, looking around at Zero, Maelstrom, Eclipse, and Crab. I glance at Bloom. _No way._ But Mosquito? _I'll work up to it._ There's a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach. Not hot. But warm.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm thinking about writing a story about Tamarin. PM me and tell me if you think it's a good idea.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

The next morning we have history with the Silver Winglet. I sit there, bored, until a note falls into my claws.

I give out a tiny yelp as it disintegrates. Whoever tossed it to me must not have had common sense. Or maybe it wasn't meant for me. I quickly open it anyway, and the note is clearly for me. I drop the ashy note and read the emerald-green ink, the same insult that's been haunting me.

 ** _YoU WiLL NEvER bE oNE oF Us_**

I look over at Flare, who's nastily grinning at me from the row directly behind me. "That's getting old," I whisper, feeling a jab. "Got any new ones?"

"Don't even try, freak," he shoots back. "Don't even try. You think you're a SkyWing? You're fooling no one but yourself."

I jerk my head away. I try to act like I don't care, but my heart feels like it's being jabbed and tears come to my eyes. I wipe them away with my talon, hoping no one will notice, but they don't go away.

I look around, hoping no one heard our conversation, but no one's looking at me except Maelstrom. He meets my gaze and drops his eyes, suddenly really interested in a crack in the cave floor.

I'm not at all sad when the gong rings and we are all free. Everyone rushes off, but there's a large gap between them and me. When everyone's filed out, I lug myself out, dragging my tail. As soon as I exit, I race for my cave. But in front of me, a SandWing and a MudWing, both from the Silver Winglet, are talking about me!

"She just looks so evil. Did you see her claws?" Asks the MudWing.

"C'mon, Cattail, the claws aren't so bad," says the SandWing.

"But her teeth!" I self-consciously raise my talon to my mouth. "And those weird copper scales. And her EYES! They were blue! The most scary, creepy blue ever!"

"Yeah, you're right," the SandWing admits. "They look like... like someone burned up the world and that's all that's left." He shivers. "I can't believe they let her in."

Propelling myself into the sky, I go up as far as I can. No one can stop me now, take me down, touch me, bother me, bully me, hate me. I can see for miles.

Over there, to the left, are the snow-capped mountains, the ones that remind me of home. On the right is the desert, free and huge.

 _"They could bite me and burn me and take me down_

 _They could stomp on my tail and walk away_

 _But nothing they do could make me stop_

 _Make me stop loving you!"_

I hear it, a voice with such sweetness and sorrow that it fills me up. I love the song, a love story written by a SkyWing prince named Cliff. It's about two dragons of different tribes, forced to be apart. It's a true story, about an IceWing and a NightWing that were actually real.

The voice is male, sweet and unbearably familiar.

 _"Not even a desert_

 _Could keep us apart_

 _Not even an ocean_

 _Could keep you from my heart."_

Now it feels like eavesdropping, but I can't help it. And here's my favorite part.

 _"If I had to cross the snow-peaked mountains just to find you_

 _Then so be it! I love you."_

I breathe in. The voice is so wonderful and sad and scared, but I can't find the source.

 _There._ On the top of that mountain over there is a dragon who is all too familiar, even from a distance. His arms are spread wide and his wings are fluttering out.

No, it's not Maelstrom. It's not Zero, either, or Crab.

It's Flare.


	5. Chapter 5

**I know I haven't updated in forever, but I had to continue Copper's story. Such a cliffhanger, right?**

 **Take my poll to vote on your favorite Peril quote. I will display the winner on the next book.**

 **Note: from what I've seen about firescales, I made it so Copper's specific type of firescales only work in her talons. I know this is not how Peril's firescales work, but this is the way I made Copper's.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Lying on the rock ledge, I long for something softer, but anything like that would burn right through.

The line plays over and over in my head as if by a loop. _You will never be one of us... never be one of us... never be... never... one of us... never be one of us._

"Copper?"

I ignore the warm voice from outside my cave. "Copper, what's wrong?" Dad repeats. "You've missed all of your classes, you didn't come to lunch... what's wrong?"

"Go away," I say harshly. "Leave me alone."

"Copper," he says softly, ducking through the doorway to find me curled up on the ledge, wings curved inwards.

"Why did you bring me here?" I ask tearfully. "I don't belong here."

"Copper, what has gotten into you?" He asks, sitting down on the ledge and putting his wings around me. "You're my daughter. You belong here more than anyone else."

"No, I don't," I snarl, pushing him away. "Nobody else thinks so."

"I do," says Clay. "And your friends do."

"What friends?" I ask, my stomach and throat a knotted mess.

"Maelstrom. And Crab and Zero. And Eclipse. And Bloom and Mosquito," says Clay.

"Not Bloom," I say, thinking of the lime green dragon and REALLY REALLY wanting to set something on fire. "Not Mosquito."

"They'll grow on you," says Clay.

"No, they won't! Everyone just pities me because I'm a death monster, I'm a hybrid, and I'm the size of a one-year-old dragonet!" I screech, heaving breaths.

"Oh, Copper," says Clay sadly. "Is that really what you think?"

"Yes," I say stubbornly, glaring at the lantern hanging above me. It's way to bright. I kiiiiiinda want to set it on fire. Maybe it would make me feel better.

"Copper, that's not what I see when I look at you," says Clay. "I see a beautiful dragonet. I see your mother, through and through. I see a fiesty little fireball who won't let dragons push her around."

"Then why can't everyone else see that?" I say, gasping for air.

"Oh, Copper," Clay sighs again. "The dragons who do see that... they're the ones who really matter." My mother has told me that a million times. Her voice echoes in my head. "And sometimes dragons are more complex than they seem. Dragons might be the way they are because of something."

A vision of Flare singing on the mountain flashes through my head, along with the memory of his cold, sweet voice.

"Like you, Copper," he continues. "Life has changed you, molded you into a different dragon. Life can harden a dragon... or it can make them stronger."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," I mutter.

"Herbs and Healing is in five minutes," says Clay. "Will you come help set up?"

I shrug. "Okay."

Five minutes later, my winglet walks in. "Copper!" Says Maelstrom. "We missed you!" He wisely doesn't ask any questions about where I've been.

"Yeah," I nod, settling beside my winglet on a tall rock. Bloom gives me a haughty glance, and I SO want to set her on fire! But then I remember Dad telling me that life changes dragons. Maybe Bloom had a really scary encounter with a banana.

I snort. Bloom glares at me; Maelstrom gives me an amused smile.

"Welcome, class!" Says Clay. "Today we'll be learning about SandWing venom." Crab curls his tail in protectively. As Clay talks about how venom can sometimes accidentally brush other SandWings and how they have a special cactus to heal them, I wonder if there could be any antidote to heal all my many flaws.

My parents didn't think they would have a firescales. They thought it was just a factor of Peril's life. Turns out it was a gene, a gene that my late grandmother Kestrel carried through me and wrecked my entire life.

Why did Peril have to go and fall in love with Clay? Imagine if Clay had fallen in love with someone else. I'd be normal- no firescales, no hybrid, no weird. Dragons would accept me.

Peril's voice echoes through my head. _Someone who can't accept you for you isn't a true friend._

When Herbs and Healing is over, it's time for lunch. As we file out of the classroom, a crumpled piece of a scroll flutters to the ground. Someone has written a note in spiked handwriting.

 _Dear Cyan,_

 _I miss you already. There's a hybrid in our winglet, the daughter of Peril and Clay. Yeah, Clay, the dragonet of destiny! She's a lot smaller than the rest of us and her scales are copper and brown._

My stomach twists.

 _She's a firescales too, like Peril. Sometimes I feel sorry for her, not being able to touch anything. No wonder she's always so prickly. And being a hybrid probably doesn't help. Sometimes I just want to give her a hug, but obviously I can't because then I'd probably die._

And underneath that, in a bold script:

 **You've written a suspicious amount about this hybrid. Why is she such a big deal? I want to actually hear about school!**

In the same handwriting from before:

 _No! It's not like that! I just think she's fascinating, that's all._

I stomp on it so nobody else can see it. It crumbles to ashes as I follow my winglet to the prey center. _I want to LIGHT whoever wrote that on FIRE!_ Is my first instinct. But then I think, _wait a second. Someone here actually thinks I'm fascinating! Someone wants to give me a hug!_ and my insides start to do an elaborate dance.

 _Maybe someone actually_ likes _me,_ I think. But I'm probably wrong because I'm not good with the, you know, the sort of, feelings kinda stuff?

We sit down at the lunch table and Zero and Crab start to chatter. Maelstrom seems confused; he seems to be... looking for something?

"Guys, has anyone seen a little scrap of parchment?" He asks. "I was writing to my brother, Cyan..."

My stomach burns to a blazing ball of fire. I push my chair back. "Excuse me," I say uneasily.

I walk out of the room, practically running, hearing my clawmates whisper but not really caring...

Maelstrom was the letter writer.


End file.
